📖 Meaning & Origin
The 女 radical depicts a woman in a kneeling or graceful posture. It appears in kanji related to women, family relationships between females, and positive qualities.
📚 Kanji by JLPT Level
✍️ Where it appears & how it changes shape
女 appears on the left in 姉, 妹, 好 and 始, and underneath in 安. On the left it narrows and the crossing stroke shortens; standing alone it opens out.
🔍 Don't confuse it with
Historically connected and visually similar, but 母 adds two dots and a longer crossing stroke. 母 is mother.
Not a confusion so much as a reminder: 安 is 宀 (roof) over 女, so the woman is inside a house rather than beside something.
📈 Beyond N5 — what comes next
| Kanji | Reading | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 始 | し / はじまる | to begin | N4 |
| 妻 | さい / つま | wife | N3 |
| 婚 | こん | marriage | N2 |
JLPT does not publish official kanji lists by level. These levels follow the commonly used reference lists and are a guide, not a guarantee.
🗣️ Words you will actually meet
🎯 How to use this radical in JLPT study
Most 女 kanji are family terms (姉, 妹, 妻) or relationships (好, 婚), so they group easily when you study. One piece of context: the meanings attached to this radical were fixed centuries ago, and some reflect the assumptions of that time rather than modern Japanese. Learn the characters as vocabulary. You do not have to accept the reasoning behind them.
⚠️ The mistake I see most often
Writing 女 with the strokes in the wrong order, which changes the balance enough that 妹 and 姉 stop looking like themselves. The crossing stroke comes last.
💡 Teacher's Memory Tip
Two crossed lines with a curved base — a figure kneeling gracefully. Kanji with 女 often relate to women, sisters, or positive feelings (like 好, 'to like').
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
The 女 radical means 'woman' or 'female.' It forms the base of many family relationship kanji like 姉 (older sister) and 妹 (younger sister).
N5 kanji with 女: 女 (woman), 姉 (older sister), 妹 (younger sister), 好 (like/love — woman + child = to love, to like).
The shape looks like a figure in a graceful bow. Remember: woman (女) + child (子) = 好 (to like) — a mother loving her child.
Other N5 Radicals
Practice 「女」 kanji with AI
Nihongo Pass uses spaced repetition to help you master all N5 kanji.